Gero Heine was born in Germany.  As a child, besides causing havoc on the playground, he was found in the local bookstore looking at coffeetable books, ingesting photographs taken in far away lands.  His early experiences roaming the Black Forest and his excursions to the nearby Alps and Dolomites sparked a lifelong passion for wilderness and wildlife.

Gero moved to Santa Cruz, California with his family as a high school student and soon became an avid surfer.  His relationship with nature was deepened by an intimate connection to the ocean and frequent one-on-one encounters with marine life.  Following his education at Pepperdine University, Gero spent 13 years in the corporate world.

In 2002 Gero fulfilled a childhood dream when he traveled to Tanzania.  Profoundly affected by the vast expanse of Africa and its astonishing, incomparable wildlife, he resolved to return as soon as possible.  Three years later, in Zambia and Kenya, the abundance of wildlife and the feeling of the bush inspired Gero to pursue photography as a fine art.  Gero has become actively involved with an African conservation organization, and has previously volunteered for a lion research project.  Gero's photography conveys the essence of his experience and his sense of deep connection to the natural world.

Gero exhibits his work in art shows and festivals all over California - please see the News & Events page for dates and locations.  If you are near his home in Santa Cruz, you can ask him for recommendations on good coffee, and check out his work at his home studio, especially during Santa Cruz County's Open Studios Tour in October (presented by the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County) or at Mulberry Gallery in Aptos. 

I began taking photographs in print and slide format.  The advancements in quality over the last few years in digital photography have made it an obvious transition for me to now photograph exclusively in digital format.  Today I use a Canon 1Ds Mark III, a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon "L" lenses.  Since about half of my work is comprised of wildlife imagery, it is imperative for me to use 35mm format for the diversity of lenses and increased frame rate over other formats.  I use Photoshop CS4 for image editing as this is today's tool of choice for darkroom work when used for color and contrast correction.  Since the natural world is my subject, aside from some functional cropping, I do not remove or add any elements.   

With my work, natural light is my primary light source, although I do use speedlite flashes from time to time, as fill light or to get catch light in animals' eyes.  Since animals are most active early in the morning or in the late afternoon/evening, I do most of my photography then.  This also coincides with the "golden hours" of landscape photography, when light is at its most dramatic.  I carefully research my locations, and previsualize my shoots and subjects.  In landscape photography the weather and clouds play an important function, and I can plan accordingly.  I will also scout out a location to plan my compositions.  With wildlife photography, the research goes more into the habits and locales of a certain species, and then animals do as they please, so I hope to be at the "right place at the right time."  With landscapes I often "see" an image in black & white.  This is where shapes are dramatic, and color may not be such a critical element, in the spirit of simplification.  With wildlife, sometimes the greatest things occur when the light may be flush and I reactively determine to convert to black & white.  To me, certain species lend themselves to black & white interpretation despite their wonderful colored coats; leopards for example.

I have been drawn to my subjects for most of my life.  One reason is the beauty and the excitement of being out in the bush, the desert or the mountains early in the morning, often times just me and my subject (s).   I cannot deny that there is a sense of escapism.  But it is a terrific moment reliving it, looking at the image at a later time.  I hope that my photographs take you to your own personal time of reflection or joy.  Then there is the need to record history.  This is especially true in today's rapidly changing world.  The need to preserve what is left of the natural world is as clear as the air should be. 

Ah, the prints.  I love the feel and smell of paper.  I grew up admiring photographs in books and the sheen and feel of the paper they were printed on.  The same applies to viewing the work of the great photographers in a gallery.  I like to think of myself as being critical and obsessive about print quality.  I feel that the print should represent the detail as it was when I took the photograph.  I am printing on a state of the art inkjet printer with high end inks in a color managed environment.  I currently use a fine matte paper that gives me the quality that I like to see my photographs printed on.  I hope you concur, and I always appreciate your feedback.